Once a Pirate by Susan Grant Read Free Book Online Page B

Andrew could hardly believe that he was attempting to make the despicable wretch appear palatable, but he continued nonetheless. “In fact, the ladies find his appearance quite pleasing.”
    She searched his face, her dark lashes damp. “I’m not her. Don’t you see? I don’t belong here. You have to help me get home.”
    Home.
To a union that would bring her nothing but misery. Richard’s atrocities toward Andrew’s family attested to that. Bile rose in Andrew’s throat, and shame seeped into the hollow place inside him. Using Amanda to punish the duke made Andrew as much a monster as Richard.
    Weeping now, Amanda tried to tug away. Awkwardly, Andrew drew her to his chest. She seemed to welcome the embrace, burying her face in the hollow between his shoulder and chest. As he held her, wrapping her petite frame in his strong one, her warm curves molded along the length of him, as though she were a piece that had always been missing.
    “There, there,” he whispered, patting her on the back as though this sort of thing came naturally. As though he had held her once before.
    He pointedly ignored the disconcerting thought.
    Murmuring soothing words and bits of phrases that made no sense at all, he stroked her hair, losing himself in the feel of her until the clock chimed, startling him from his trance. Her tears had stopped.
    Good Lord! He was resting his chin on her head.
    He propelled her back to arms’ length. Her eyes mirrored his alarm. And for good reason—she was betrothed to another man. He had no right to hold her in this intimate way. Once before he had desired what wasn’t his, and it had cost him all he’d loved. He would not make the same mistake twice.
    “Have you recovered?” he inquired in a clipped tone.
    She pushed away from him and backed toward the aft bedchamber. “I’d like to be alone for awhile,” she said in a shaky voice.
    He had reservations about leaving her. But whatharm would come to her in his quarters? “I’ll have Mr. Gibbons bring your bath,” he said and eased the door closed.
    Mortified, Carly sagged against the wall. She knew better than to give in to her fear, her neediness. Yet, that was exactly what she had done. Thank goodness Andrew had wedged his icy contempt between them before she’d revealed how much his comfort meant to her, and how safe she’d felt in his arms.
    Smudging moisture from her cheeks, she peered around the old-fashioned cabin. She loved technology, every gleaming, wondrous, timesaving marvel, and now she’d landed in a place devoid of it all. Good-bye electricity, computers, and microwaves. Not to mention showers, Tylenol, and tampons.
    There had to be a way home.
    An idea rocked her. A crazy, impulsive idea. What if she got into the water? Would everything reverse itself? Hope surged. If the ocean was how she got here, it could very well be her way back. Then she’d see a rescue helicopter. Or the carrier.
    She jogged out of the cabin and across the deck. Leaning over the railing, she found the long, narrow shelf below. The chains. There was one on each side of the ship. They anchored the ropes that supported the masts, because the towering poles could not withstand the strain of the wind on their own. No one dared sit on the chains when the ship was running full speed. They were only six feet wide. But getting home was worth the risk, wasn’t it?
    She glanced behind her. The captain and crew had returned to their duties. No one was watching her. If she was going to try out her plan, now was her chance.
    Hurry.
She gripped a rope attached to the side of theship, tested it, then rappelled down, landing hard. Her ears popped with the pressure of the thundering sea. The spray-laden wind slapped her wet hair against her neck, her cheeks. It was like standing two feet from Niagara Falls. She kept one hand on the rope, fighting the urge to chant, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.”
    Suddenly the wind died. The silence